The Story of Saiunkoku is a shōjo supernatural romance-comedy anime set in the titular mythical/historical realm. Saiunkoku is heavily influenced by Chinese mythology. While there is no exact year, the setting seems to be based very loosely on one of the more stable periods between the late Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty as the bureaucratic system established during the Han period is well entrenched while the development of gunpowder has yet to be discovered; however, the series is clearly not historical fiction.
The Story of Saiunkoku: The Complete Season One tells the story of Shurei Hong, a young girl from an impoverished branch of the noble Hong clan who wants to become a civil government official to help the citizens of Saiunkoku, though the office is just a means to and end for her as she is willing to do anything as long as it is for the benefit of the citizens, even become a king consort. While Shurei is trying to better the country, she attracts the attention of several men around her, including Ryuki Shi, the reigning emperor, Seiran Si, the exiled prince and her adopted brother, Sakujun Sa, a charming man who sponsors a group merciless bandits, and others. As much as The Story of Saiunkoku is about romance, it is far more about political intrigue as every major arc in the series deals with some kind of behind-the-scenes maneuvering.
Highlights:
When I got the series I didn't know what to expect beyond there being some kind of romance story. I was pleased to find out The Story of Saiunkoku was far more than that; the anime focused more on political intrigue. While the romantic element was still clearly there, it was more of the underlying subplot that advanced the story rather than the story revolving around it. Nor was all of the political intrigue black-and-white, especially the first arc which dealt with Shurei as the consort.
While I enjoyed many of the characters, my favorites would have to have been Korin, the adopted daughter of Enjun Sa, and Koyu Ri, the adopted son of Reishin Hong and Vice-Secretary of Civil Affairs, especially the latter who reminds as someone who could rival Ryoga Hibiki of Ranma ½ for his lack of direction sense. Unfortunate as both are side characters neither got much development. Korin got some near the end, but other than a bit of background history with Koyu, not much has happened beyond his initial character development.
Overview:
Despite the somewhat complex plot lines, The Story of Saiunkoku is not meant to be a title for adults as its light novel origin would indicate. Every episode of the anime is based around a proverb, morale or saying from different cultures. Most of them are eastern ones like “a frog in a well knows not about the ocean”, but a few like “good things come to those who wait” are English proverbs and then there are some that were translated in English to ones people are more familiar with such as “let sleeping dogs lie” which is the rough equivalent to the Japanese proverb “poke a bush and a snake comes out.” While a lot of anime titles centered around children and teenagers have episodes dealing with teaching morales or ways to improve themselves, The Story of Saiunkoku takes it to the next level by centering the episode around a specific one while attempting to appeal to adults through the somewhat more complex plot lines than you'd find in a typical high school romance or action-oriented title.
However, the central underlying theme of The Story of Saiunkoku is not about the morales, proverbs or even romance; it is about sacrifices for the greater good and where the balance lies between individual wants and desires and the needs of society. Questions like when does personal ambition become divisive and how to balance work and personal life, especially when your work isn't for your own sake, but for the citizenry.
The Story of Saiunkoku is an anime that can appeal to a wide audience. While the story is clearly targeted for young adult female audience, it is not so much so that others could not enjoy it and may not recognize it as such. The only clear indicators are the coloring schemes, as the title and box are full of purple and pink, and the prevalence of bishis with the relative lack of their female counterparts, bishōjo characters.
While Sai Yukino is very good at coming up with interesting and intricate plots that are still at a level of understanding for somewhat younger readers, the artwork for the anime is a bit different. While it is clearly still quality work, there is clear evidence of the anime being a budget title. To a lot of extent these items are common on every anime to save money for the more important scenes, like still-framing crowded streets instead of animating them (except for the important characters), but there are a few cases in this anime where they cut on some of the more iconic elements for characters like Shurei's the bow knots for Shurei's hair being absent in a few closeup scenes or the greatly varying degree of Ensei Ro's beard when he hasn't shaved for a while. Still these items are minor ones and are something you'd make fun of rather than complain about.
While the story advanced a lot, it was clearly not over, in spite of the “The End” after the final episode as so much had yet to be resolved. Indeed, a second season has been released in Japan just last year. Shurei has achieved her childhood dream, but is now removed from many of her friends and family in the Sa province, many of the romantic relationships have yet to be resolved and for building Yukino building such a vast world, very little of it has been explored.
The Story of Saiunkoku is the kind of anime that'll appeal to those that like romance tales as well as those who like political intrigue, especially with an historical Chinese twist to it. Considering the length of its season, 39 episodes, it only enhances its value for those conscious about the price for the amount of quality content.
ComicsOnline gives The Story of Saiunkoku: The Complete Season One 4 out of 5 steamed sweet bean buns.
